This application relates generally to power generating facilities and, more particularly, to a power generating system and method for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases.
Air pollution concerns worldwide have led to stricter emissions standards. These standards regulate the emission of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), unburned hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and carbon dioxide (CO2), generated by the power industry. In particular, carbon dioxide has been identified as a greenhouse gas, resulting in various techniques being implemented to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide being discharged to the atmosphere.
One such technique utilizes an amine process to separate the carbon dioxide from the other exhaust gases. More specifically, amine is injected into the exhaust stream of a known gas turbine engine prior to the exhaust stream being discharged to atmosphere. For example, when the exhaust stream is discharged to atmosphere, the partial pressure of the carbon dioxide within the exhaust stream is approximately 2% to 5% percent of the total pressure of the exhaust stream. As such, a relatively large quantity of amine is required to remove the relatively small quantity of carbon dioxide from the total volume of the exhaust stream. As a result, current technology for separating carbon dioxide from other exhaust gases within the exhaust stream is relatively expensive and may result in a power plant power loss of approximately ten percent.